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Okay Fashionistas, t’is the season to Nan-it-up. It’s time to don those duffel coats, cosy-up in a cardy, pull your woolly socks up and pop a couple of teabags in the pot.Autumn has come over all old-school.

From ribbed metallics and alpine lodge sweater dressing at Michael Kors, to duffel’s and cable knits at Dolce & Gabbana, and lets not forget Miu Miu’s nan-tastic take on the fishnet. Granny glam is big news (and ultra practical – wouldn’t want to catch a cold now would we dears).

Herringbone, cable, ribbed…the chunkier the better…even over-enthusiastic-Christmas-jumper knits are getting a look in over at Jean Paul Gaultier. Think blue-rinse chintz chic meets Celine-inspired layers: just hang fire on the lavender and moth balls. No one wants to smell like a doorway to Narnia.

Finally (rambling apology aside) it’s here: my first post after an excessively long hiatus of quite literally days. So, in keeping with my fresh life, fresh job, fresh start mentality, it’s time for a fresh season (I know, it seems a tad premature to start thinking about a/w 2010/11 but, as we well know, time and fashion wait for no man – or woman – so we‘d best get on with it).

Louis Vuitton a/w 2010 RTW
Like s/s, a/w looks set to offer an absolutely mammoth miscellany of trend and style options (excellent news for the easily bored) from purist minimalism to gothic Victoriana and androgynous tailoring. But, start somewhere we must and today that somewhere is the understated classic sophistication of the 50’s sex kitten: think Mad Men’s Betty Draper and shelve the overt sexuality of seasons past. Balmania may not be dead but it certainly is not demure and to rock this look you are going to need to unleash your inner Ingénue – or, at the very least, cage your inner Vamp.

Louis Vuitton a/w 2010 RTW

This look is all about grown-up femininity and that mystical concept of ‘lady-likeness’ often touted by well-meaning Grandmothers amidst bouts of disapproving tut-tutting. But that’s not to say go all out and ‘prude’ yourself! Think subtle sexiness meets wide-eyed naivety. In a word: coy.

Louis Vuitton a/w 2010

Prada a/w 2010 RTW

Drop your hem-line, ditch your sky-scraper heels in favour of flats, kittens and baby stilettos and rework a little of last season’s Lolita-look with bow detailing – just keep it sharp and sleek: Fashion’s nostalgia for the girlish has given way to picture perfect pin-up credentials. The cinched waist and the heaving bosom – as seen at Louis Vuitton, Prada and Loewe – provide the key silhouette for the season (raise a cheer all ye of gloriously curvaceous proportions – your time is now!)

I’m in the mood for some pretty, powder-pink, airy-fairy, cute-as-a-button, princess frock frivolity. Give me fantasy, daydreams and a romp through the wilderness with a knight in super sharp Armani paired with Grenson brogues wielding anything but a man bag…sigh. Otherworldly escapism with a side order of whimsy please – and hold the fainting (damsel in distress? Me thinks not).

Back to the outfit – a minxy thigh-skimmer of a hemline, peep-toe neutral wedges and socks and nailing the hot as hell asymmetric trend (look to 3.1 Phillip Lim and RM by Roland Mouret for references) this look couldn’t be more now. Details wise, the chic frayed edging of the under-shorts is VERY Prada’s s/s 2010 distressed graphic silks; deconstruction contrasted to perfection with the Rodarte-esque romance of that diaphanous one-sleeve wonder.

Summer is upon us (apparently) and from the loose shawls and eye-popping Saharan headscarves at Kenzo, to Bedouin-esque lace turbans at Oscar de la Renta, jungle fever at Tibi and the jaw-droppingly-covetable corporate castaway glamour seen at Prada; the unfamiliar, otherworldly and outlandish have touched down in a gloriously avant-garde jumbo jet. It’s time to get global.

Prada s/s 2010

With designers sourcing their inspiration from far-flung and exotic destinations across the globe, this season the world really is your oyster…

Kenzo s/s 2010

Work jungle fever in pacific brights and exotic florals – or look for subtle references like this dramatically diaphanous hummingbird print number from Tibi…

Prints not your style? (Or perhaps you just need a, well-earned, optical break?) why not work the traveller trend Imperial style in chic safari-suits a laOscar de la Renta, or go for weatherbeaten wayfarer appeal in casual sunbleached denims and washed-out cottons with a rough-hewn finish.

Crash landing on the back of Summer’s neo-sports utility hoedown (cast your mind back to the reworked-neoprene surfer dolls at Proenza Schouler, Prada’s perspex wonderland and vivid high-shine brights at Versace) the future has gone well and truly futuristic. Visionary space-age styling in ultramodern fabrics, sci-fi structure and austere tribalism. It’s fashion Jim…but not as we know it…

Chanel a/w 2010

Balenciaga a/w 2010

Both Chanel and Balenciaga offered up a pared down post-apocalyptic white-wash, punctuated with gaudy geometry in pop-art brights and future-proof footwear. My season favourite has to be Lagerfeld’s sexy Go-go boot /stiletto hybrid: alien Ice Queen meets PVC sex kitten in an uber mod sartorial supernova.

Tessa Edwards a/w 2010

Up-and-comer Tessa Edwards serves up an altogether darker vision which is fierce – with a capital F. Strong, statuesque and redolent of an intimidatory exoticism, Edwards’ look focuses in on a kind of ancestral austerity channeled through a palette of severe blacks and abyssal ox-blood reds.

Inspired by the recent spate of – verging on the glorious – sunshine, I decided it was about time I got down to one of the biggest style dilemmas of the season…bikini, one-piece…tankini? In a word swimwear.

Thus it was that I came to spend two hours of my existence scouring the internet for the ultimate, nay, the superlative summer cossie. And so, without further ado, here are a few of my favourite finds…prepare to make a splash poolside in these beauties!

Still making my mind up about these old-school one-pieces from We Are Handsome (a collaboration between Oscar&Elvis Swimwear and People Like Us): definite show-stoppers, definitely unique, very kitsch and a lot of fun…

OH! Liberty….you never cease to amaze me!!! Loving the Nike hi-tops…if only!!! (cue the pointless sigh of the should’a, would’a, could’a enthusiast). If I had my pick of the Nike Liberty 2011 collection it would have to be the ‘Tatum … Continue reading →

After the scandal came the show (the huge crowd seemingly oblivious to the rumoured boycot) and, while it may have been a swan song of sorts, few in the history of fashion can claim to have been as dramatic. Rebels, … Continue reading →

This truly is the end of an era and just days before the Christian Dior show at Paris Fashion Week (drama anyone!?) …But, this is fashion and the show MUST go on so who’s next for the top spot at … Continue reading →

You’d do well to bring out the marching band this Fall as Moschino embraces masculine militaria – with a curve-ball of a twist of course. Think sharp suited savoir faire and embrace immaculately tailored tailcoats, rip-roaring riding jackets and palazzo … Continue reading →

Natalie Portman speaks out against designer John Galliano and Christian Dior has yet to announce his fate as further evidence comes to light… Follow these links for more on the story & Monday’s video: http://tiny.cc/c8fhe http://tiny.cc/h3x1d Amplify’d from www.vogue.co.uk John … Continue reading →